Mark Westbrook

Acting is living truthfully under (both) the immediate circumstances of the

moment and the imaginary circumstances of the scene
100 tips on acting
1) BE AUDIBLE If you cannot be heard, you may as well not be there.
2) LEARN YOUR LINES This is the minimum you can do for your wages.
3) LEARN THE LINES INFLECTED Dont become a robot.
4) SHOW UP EARLY Courtesy costs nothing.
5) BE STILL Unintentional movement blurs the stage picture.
6) THE AUDIENCE DO THE PRETENDING Actors do not pretend.
7) ACTING IS ACTION OR DOING Not thinking, not pretending to do or be.
8) TALKING ABOUT REHEARSING IS TO ACTING, AS FISH ARE TO BOXING
9) GET COMFORTABLE BEING UNCOMFORTABLE Get used to it being
uncomfortable.
10) THE AUDIENCE CANT SEE WHAT YOURE THINKING Get out of your head.
11) ACTING IS MOVING THE AUDIENCE, NOT THE ACTOR
12) SHOUTING ISNT ACTING When you shout, you become weaker.
13) LOOK FOR OPPOSITES If the character is brave, show the fear too.
14) WHAT DOES YOUR CHARACTER WANT THE OTHER CHARACTER TO DO?
15) EXPRESS THE POSITIVE Not what they dont want, but what they do want.
16) EMOTIONS CANNOT BE FAKED They look fake because they are fake.
17) EMOTION IS A BYPRODUCT OF THE PURSUIT OF ACTION
18) THE DIFFERENCE IS IN THE PREPARATION
19) DO NOT PUT YOUR HANDS IN YOUR POCKETS If you are thinking about your
hands, you are not trying to get your Essential Action.
20) STOP SWAYING Its a habitual mannerism.
21) STOP LEANING/STOOPING FORWARD STAND UP STRAIGHT Its a habitual
mannerism.
22) WHAT YOU PRACTICE YOU WILL PERFORM
23) STOP FLAPPING YOUR ARMS LIKE A PENGUIN Its a habitual mannerism.
24) LISTEN TO THE DIRECTOR Whether right or wrong, theyre paying your
rent.
25) LEARN THE LINES AS THEY ARE WRITTEN
26) STAY LATE It buys you Brownie points.
27) DONT ADD YOUR OWN WORDS The playwright is an artist.
28) DONT TELL OTHER ACTORS WHAT TO DO IN THE SCENE Its the height of
rudeness, get on with your own job.
29) WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERS NOT SAYING TO EACH OTHER? Seek the
subtext.
30) LEAVE YOURSELF SOMEWHERE TO GO Dont start the scene at the end.
31) BREATHE Or you will die and so will your performance.
32) BE SPECIFIC IN YOUR CHOICES AND DECISIONS Generality is the enemy of
art.
33) TALENT WONT HELP YOU WHEN YOURE STUCK Get technique.
34) THEY ALWAYS WANT STAFF AT SAINSBURYS You dont HAVE to do this.
35) YOU ARE YOUR INSTRUMENT SO IF YOURE NOT IN TOP FORM, THERES
ONLY ONE PERSON TO BLAME
36) BE IN THE MOMENT
37) HOLD THE MOMENT Leave a moment or two at the end of the scene.
38) DONT JUDGE YOUR CHARACTER
39) TENSION WILL KILL YOUR PERFORMANCE Learn to perform at ease.
40) HOLD SOMETHING BACK Dont give everything, hold a little in reserve.
41) CHARACTER IS WHAT YOU DO, WHAT ACTIONS YOU TAKE You are what you
do.
42) THE BADDIE RARELY CONSIDERS THEMSELVES A BADDIE
43) DO NOTHING UNTIL SOMETHING MAKES YOU DO IT Avoid contrivance.
44) MONOLOGUES ARE THE HARDEST AND MOST DEMANDING PERFORMANCE
AND REQUIRE THE MOST WORK
45) WHEN YOU CHANGE A HABIT OR LEARN SOMETHING NEW IT ALWAYS
FEELS AWKWARD AND WRONG Its always that way.
46) DO NOT LISTEN TO THE CRITICS They exist to sell newspapers.
47) BE KIND, BE COURTEOUS, AND BE WILLING TO DO MORE THAN REQUIRED
48) NOBODY LIKES A SHOW OFF But dont be afraid to shine.
49) NOBODY LIKES A KISS ASS But do more than you are asked.
50) STOP TRYING SO HARD IN THE SCENE/AUDITION
51) THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH TRAINING
52) WORK SMARTER AND HARDER What can you do to go the extra mile?
53) MAKE FRIENDS WITH STAGE MANAGEMENT
54) DONT GOSSIP ABOUT YOUR FELLOW ACTORS
55) DONT SLEEP WITH YOUR CO-STAR
56) TOURS ARE BORING LEARN A LANGUAGE, READ, WRITE, PRACTICE YOGA
57) ASK QUESTIONS
58) BE THE FIRST TO VOLUNTEER FOR EVERYTHING
59) LEARN TO ACT BEFORE YOU THINK
60) YOU CANNOT ACT IN SPITE OF THE PLAY, WORK WITH WHAT YOU ARE
GIVEN
61) THERE IS NO PERFECT ROLE You make the role perfect by fully living it.
62) EXPECT REJECTION But refuse to accept it.
63) EMBRACE OPPORTUNITY
64) EVERYONE GETS SCARED
65) EVERYONE FAILS Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better (S.Beckett)
66) GATHER MORE STRINGS TO YOUR BOW
67) SELL YOURSELF, BUT DONT SELL YOURSELF CHEAPLY
68) THE LITTLE VOICE IN YOUR HEAD IS USUALLY WRONG (Usually)
69) DECIDE WHERE THE LINE IS DRAWN Stick to your principles.
70) SOME PEOPLE ARE JUST LUCKY, OTHERS HAVE TO GRAFT
71) THE PLAYS THE THING
72) IF THE ANALYSIS HURTS YOUR HEAD, YOU ARE DOING GOOD WORK
73) WHO DO YOU KNOW?
74) THE SHOW IS NOT ABOUT YOU
75) BE DIFFERENT EVERY NIGHT
76) ACTING IS NOT GENTEEL CRAFT
77) DONT BE AFRAID TO GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY
78) WHEN THE SHOW IS OVER, SEND THANK YOU CARDS
79) THE CORRECT RESPONSE TO ANY FORM OF PRAISE IS: THANK YOU
80) YOU ARE REPLACEABLE
81) BE SCEPTICAL Theres too much bullshit in this profession.
82) THERE IS NO MAGIC
83) TALENT IS AS CHEAP AS TABLE SALT
84) IN THE END, ITS JUST A JOB
85) IN THE END, ITS JUST A SHOW
86) WHATS IN YOUR CONTROL? Forget about the things that are not.
87) SOMETIMES YOURE THE WINDSHIELD, SOMETIMES YOURE THE BUG
88) THOSE WHO REFUSE TO ACCEPT DEFEAT WILL HAVE A CAREER
89) PEOPLE WILL FORGET WHO YOU ARE Sometimes when you do a good job.
90) PEOPLE WILL REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE Mainly when you do a bad job.
91) REFUSE TO GIVE UP Its the only way youre going to make it.
92) SPEAK UP They want to hear you at the back.
93) REFUSE TO GIVE UP Giving up is the only way you wont make it.
94) THERE ARE NO GRADES IN THE REAL WORLD
95) LISTEN TO ADVICE But you do not have to take it.
96) REFUSE TO GIVE UP And you will make it.
97) THIS IS A REAL JOB Dont let anyone tell you any different.
98) DONT LET THE BASTARDS GRIND YOU DOWN (Mama Westbrook)
99) DO NOT BE LATE Its discourteous.
100) ILL TRY IS PREPARING TO FAIL (David Mamet) - Dont try anything. Trying
is preparing yourself for the option to fail. Do your best.

How to Love Auditioning

by Karen Kohlhaas

Anyone who watches auditions regularly will tell you: 10 percent or less
(some even say 1 percent)of the actors they see, look like theyre
having a good time. Surprised? Theyll also say that the actors who seem
to truly enjoy auditioning are more likely to be considered and cast. So,
lets recognize what an audition really is: a job interview. If you were
interviewing applicants for a position of great responsibility, would you
be inclined to hire those who looked unhappy? Would you hire the
applicants who looked most desperate to get the job? Or would you be
drawn to those who seemed the most happy with themselves and
enthusiastic about possibly being hired? I think actors often look
unhappy (this includes looking serious, somber, grim, and totally
miserable) because theyre treating auditions as ordeals they must
endure in the hope of getting hired to do some real creative work. I
believe the only way to change this is to treat the audition process itself
as a creative project, with skills and habits you can learn and get better
at.

Define whats in your control and what isnt, and forget about what isnt.

Show business is insane and unfair, always has been, always will be.
Heres an exercise: make a two-column list, with one side labelled Can
Control and one labelled Cant Control. Write down everything you can
think of that has to do with auditioning on each column. Then circle
everything on the Control side that you regularly do, and circle
everything on the Cant Control side that you regularly worry about or
otherwise lose energy to. Any surprises? Your goal is to recycle the
energy you spend on the Cant Control side onto the Control side. Doing
this exercise from time to time, and taking constructive action based on
your results, can positively transform your audition experiences.

Have a solid, measurable craft.

This may seem obvious, but do you have an acting technique that works
for you? Do you have a concrete way to tackle a script? Is your voice in
shape? Is your body trained and at your service? Do you know what roles
you want to be going out for? Do you have an idea of how others, such
as casting directors, see you? Do you have an ever-evolving list of your
most favourite plays, films, directors, and companies? Do you practice
regularly? Do you practice auditioning ? The more you work on the
various skills of your craft, the more you will enjoy exercising those skills.
Youll be more likely to see auditions as opportunities to share your
creativity and to perform, and as a result youll have a better time in the
audition room.

Be a gracious host at your audition.

It may be their audition room, but its your audition. Are you welcoming
people to your performance? Or are you gritting your teeth and bracing
yourself? Are you treating casting directors as valued colleagues, or
more like the firing squad? Are you hurling yourself through the door or
are you walking in and pleasantly taking the stage? Are you smiling or
are you grimacing? Are you warmly thanking them or are you running
out of the room? I teach a whole class on this skill, but heres the bottom
line: if you habitually host your auditions positively and graciously, you
are more likely to have a better time yourself.
Never make one audition mean everything.

I once told a friend of mine, who was up for the role of her dreams,
that if she didnt get the part, then I wanted her to be in a production I
was directing. Later. she told me that knowing that made her relax in the
final callback then she did, in fact, get the role of her dreams. Obviously
you cant guarantee that theres another role waiting for you whenever
you audition, but you can plan your life so that you are excited about
what you have going on while youre auditioning. That can mean classes
youre taking, trips or events youre planning, or creating your own
projects. The most attractive thing in the audition room is an actor who
looks like he or she has somewhere interesting to go next. That kind of
actor gives off an air of youd better grab me while you can, not please
give me this part its the only thing in my life.

De-romanticise show business.

Michael Mastro, currently performing on Broadway in Mamma Mia! , is

also a wonderful audition coach and speaker. When he tells the story of
landing his first job in a Broadway play (as an understudy in Terrence
McNallys Love! Valour! Compassion!), he very eloquently describes how
part of him grieved for the loss of the romantic longing hed had since
childhood to be on Broadway because it was finally happening! And it
happened because he worked his butt off in the audition process to get
the job. When he got it, he had to redefine himself as no longer being
the person who romantically longs, but a person who is a working actor
and a businessman. He advises actors that giving up some of the
romance of show business can make you happier when youre
auditioning, because youll be treating auditioning and acting more like
real and important things that you are responsible for, instead of a not-
quite-real, random, someday kind of lottery. (P.S. He is, however, still
head over heels in love with acting.)

Learn and enjoy the steps of the dance.

A first audition is like a first coffee date: Hello, how are you? Heres how
this part hits me a taste of what I could be like in this role. The problem
is too many actors show up for this first date with an engagement ring
they put way too much pressure on themselves (and on their auditors)
for the first audition to go perfectly instead of recognizing each step of
the audition dance. Instead of trying to deliver a perfect performance, let
your first audition be a sample of the sensibility you would bring to the
role, and possibly the kind of receptivity you would have to direction and
feedback. Then, if they happen, let each subsequent callback build on
your first audition by digging a little deeper into your work, and getting a
bit more detailed. As nerve-wracking as it can be, you will give better
auditions and have more fun if you focus specifically on each stage of
the audition process rather than fret over the whole or the outcome.

Get fascinated with the details.

Are you more focused in the morning? What should you do to be your
best at a 3 p.m. audition? What colours look best on you? Do you have
clothes and shoes you look and feel great in? Do you need to eat protein
before an audition? Should you avoid sugar? How can you be hydrated
but not have to run to the bathroom right before you go in the room?
Systematically identifying and practicing details that make you your best
is in your control. Itll pay off in increased energy, concentration, and
enjoyment.

Talk to yourself productively.

You have three possible ways to talk to yourself after an audition:

positively, neutrally, or negatively. I actually recommend talking to
yourself neutrally. If you feel terrible after an audition, it will be harder to
force yourself to be positive, but youll be more likely to manage a
neutral assessment that can actually give you some valuable
information. Write down what happened as objectively as you can. What
worked? What could have worked better? What do you want to focus on
for next time? Take what you learned and move on. Then youll have
clear goals to act on for the next time. Once you make this a habit, it will
be much easier to muster a positive attitude both at the audition and
afterwards, because youll be working on your own side.

Recognize success.

The wonderful actor Peter Maloney recently spoke to the students at the
Atlantic Acting School . He said, If they dont cast me, I want it to be
their fault, not mine. As a teacher, I love hearing when former students
get jobs, but perhaps the kind of email or call I love even more is when
an actor says: I just had a great audition. I was fully prepared. I took care
of everything. I was at ease coming into the room. I read or did my
monologue and had fun working in the moment. And I made a point of
giving them a sincere thank you and making a confident exit. I had so
much fun, and Im glad I went regardless of whether I am called back or
cast. That is someone I know who has fallen in love with the auditioning
process, and who is enjoying their success right now.

* * * * *

Top Monologue Mistakes and

Solutions
By Karen Kohlhaas
Article from www.monologueaudition.com

This article was revised in August 2006

1. Not having the lines memorized well enough!

Believe it or not, this is the single biggest problem that most actors have
in the
audition room. The auditors of a recent EPA (Equity Principal Audition),
told me
that they could tell that the majority of actors, even subtly, were still
trying to
remember their lines. Therefore they were not fully acting their
monologues. I
completely disagree with the theory that not quite having the lines will
keep an
actor fresh. Would a serious musician in a competition dream of not
quite
knowing the piece? If any of an actor energy is going into remembering
the line,
that energy is not at his disposal to truly act the piece. Solution: Be like
Anthony
Hopkins, who runs his lines 200 times before shooting a scene. I think
most
people agree that his efforts are worth it. Maybe your number isnt 200
but find
out what your number is and how much rehearsal do you need to have
the
monologue memorized so you can bring all of yourself to playing it?

2. Having no staging choices

This is second, if not equal to, not having lines. An auditor of another
EPA said
that none of the actors who came in during a whole day of auditions had
made
specific physical choices for their monologues. Instead, they just acted
the piece
and left the movement up to chance. Would anyone dream of sending a
cast on
stage on opening night with no staging, just hoping that the actors
acting instincts
would take care of everything? An auditioning actor is under just as
much
pressure. Solution: Having clear, fun staging will instantly improve your
monologues and make you less nervous. Think carefully about what you
want
your monologue to look like from the outside, and give yourself a few
concrete
moves to help you tell the story. P.S.: Working in a chair is not a solution
to having
no staging! You need to make physical choices in the chair as well, so
that your
piece doesnt have low energy/physical sameness all the way through.

3. Looking at the floor

Many actors look on the floor before, during and/or after their
monologues. Unless
it is for a specifically staged moment that actually refers to something
on the floor
in the plot, looking at the floor during the piece can look like you lost
your line and
it almost always drops the energy of your performance. Looking at the
floor after
the piece can look like you are ashamed or unsure. Solution: Look up! I
do
suggest dropping your eyes only (not your head) for a brief 3-second
countdown
into the piece at the very beginning, but otherwise, let the auditors see
your eyes
as much as possible. This will involve them in the piece and keep them
with you.

4. Hating the material

You are the producer, director, actor and designer of your monologues,
and every
monologue audition gives you an opportunity to run with this incredible
artistic
freedom. If you, like many actors, hate your monologues, its time to get
some
new ones and get excited about how you are going to present them.
Auditors can
tell when you are not excited about your pieces, and if youre not
excited, why
should they be? Do you like watching a cast that is not excited about
performing
the play? Your monologues have the potential to be expressions of why
you want
to act in the first place; celebrations of your favorite writers, and also
thrilling
experiments and challenges. Solution: Do whatever you need to do to
find
material you love (read more, do some thinking about what writing
excites you the
most) and get to work. See Why you should have 20 monologues and
other
articles on this website for ideas about finding material.

5. Acting to (looking at) the auditors

When we interviewed 7 industry professionals for The Monologue
Audition Video,
all but one said they hate it when actors directly to them, or otherwise
use them
during the piece. Most actors seem to know not to do this, but it still
happens.
Solution: Find a place to focus that best creates the illusion that you are
talking to
someone just behind them. (You can adapt this focus if necessary to
create the
illusion that you are speaking to more than one person, a group,
yourself, God,
etc.). Practice working off of your own instincts and sense of truth, as
you act the
monologue to that focus choice (with someone watching, this is
essential).
Practice with a friend until you are sure your focus looks the way you
want it to.

6. Acting in a 3/4 view to the auditors

A lot of actors do this, and it makes no sense. They end up acting their
piece for
the corner! Solution: Always give those watching you the fullest
experience of
your performance (they want to audition you, not your profile). Practice
with a
friend watch each other and compare notes until youre sure of the
auditors
view of you.
7. Standing too close to the auditors
Acting too close to the auditors can make them extremely uncomfortable
(as you
would be if a stranger got too close to you!) I have recently been hearing
of
auditions that actually put markers down on the floor, and ask actors not
to cross
them. An actor who gets too close is an actor who is showing that he is
unaware
of, or doesnt care about, the audiences experience. Each audition room
is
different, and each room will require different choices. What is too close
in one
room wont necessarily be too close in a smaller or differently shaped
room. You
dont want to be too far from the auditors either; that can feel like you
are lurking
in the background or like theres no one on stage. Solution: Learning how
to find
the best spot for your performance is part of your showmanship.
Practice, ideally
with a friend, walking into different rooms and identifying the best acting
area. Put
that acting area behind the place that would start to be too close to the
auditors,
and practice performing your piece so that you never cross that line.
Practice until
you can define the area instantly and habitually as you walk in.

8. Having an unsupported voice and/or mumbling

Both having an unsupported voice and mumbling are marks of an
amateur.
Regardless of whether your audition is for theater, TV or film, your
commitment to
a supported voice and clear speech demonstrates how committed you
are to the
characters point of view, and your audiences experience. It is also an
indication
of how versatile you could be as an actor. Solution: work on your voice
and
speech! For recommendations in New York and Los Angeles, see Great
NYC/LA
teachers and classes. My favorite Mamet quote about voice is Voice
work is the
easiest, cheapest way to happiness as an actor. Look to your favorite
actors and
I think you will find them vocally committed and articulate, no matter
the role or the
style.

9. Paraphrasing and/or removing the writers punctuation

For serious theater auditions its absolutely essential that the lines are
said as
written, and as punctuated even if you think you have a better idea.
Paraphrasing is often accepted in tv or film work, but I still suggest
paying
attention to the way a line was written if you commit to it you may find
out
something essential about the character. If you paraphrase in a theater
audition
you are showing that you may not honor the writing when you rehearse
a play.
Playwriting is next door to poetry: meter, rhythm, and emphasis are all
factors,
and how a line sounds is often as important as what it literally means.
Writers
cringe when actors dont pay attention to their carefully worked out
lines, rhythm
and punctuation. The playwright Jerome Hairston says, When an actor
paraphrases, that means he doesnt understand the line. Once he
understands
the line, hell know that it cant be said any other way. Solution: When
preparing
an audition, embrace the way each line was written, and practice until
the
language is part of you.

10. Playing the emotion

The great Shakespearean director, scholar and teacher John Barton talks
about
how the monologues and soliloquies in Shakespeare are not about
displaying
emotion, but about handling the emotion. I think this is true of all
monologues.
The character is usually delivering a monologue in an attempt to do
something
about what is going on at the present time (even if its only to figure it
out; even if
its to say he has no idea what to do, but he knows he needs to do
something!).
That means it is a given that the monologue is already coming from a
state of
great emotion, and that the emotion does not need to be emphasized.
Just as in
life, you usually want to avoid people who are trying to get something
from you
with great hysteria, rage, self-pity, or excessive giddiness, so auditors
might react
to actors who are only playing into the emotion of the situation. Yes you
do want
to play the importance of finding the solution, but that is very different
than having
an emotional fit, which will always take you away from the solution.
Solution:
Create order. Play the importance of what the character is trying to do,
to
accomplish, to get from the other character(s). Define the objective as
specifically
as possible, treat it as something you can actually achieve; put the full
force of
your personality behind the objective, and not only will an emotional
commitment
naturally be there, but your auditors will see you as the hero acting
while under
great stress, rather than as the victim who only complains about it.

11. Fidgeting
We all have fidgets, mannerisms we do unconsciously. Monologue work
tends
to put your fidgets under the magnifying glass because you are the only
thing
happening in the room. Fidgets can include: shifting weight from side to
side;
beating out the rhythm of the lines with arms or head; thrusting the
head and also
upper body forward so that alignment is pulled off and the voice suffers;
fussy
and/or repetitive hand gestures; blinking. Fidgeting is distracting and
instantly
takes the audience out of the piece. Fidgeting can be worked on
however, and I
have seen some incredibly fidgety actors transform themselves into
focused,
purposeful, riveting performers by working patiently with their fidgeting
habits.
Solution: Know that every body movement read is apparent to your
auditors, and that every movement needs to be either a choice or a full
expression of a spontaneous impulse (if it is less than full it becomes a
fidget).
Having purposeful, fidget-free staging for a monologue helps immensely.
Work
with movement and acting teachers, work with partners, to ground
yourself and
practice both stillness AND the full discharge of your movement
impulses. For
those who can stand it: have a partner videotape you from a side view
while you
act your monologue fully. When you watch it, watch it without the sound,
and you
will quickly see your fidgets, and when you are using your body
purposefully and
powerfully.

12. Having a neutral (or unpleasant) hello/thank you

Do you have a specific attitude or philosophy that you regularly practice
when
representing yourself and your work to people? Most successful business
people
do. If you are neutralizing your non-performing interactions in the room,
you are
likely to look like you are not happy to be there. If you were hiring
someone for a
position of great responsibility, would you hire someone who looked
unhappy?
Your interactions in the room are how you show the auditors what you
are like
under pressure, and what kind of attitude they can expect of you in a
production.
Solution: With enough practice, anyone can become an expert at making
a
warm, professional entrance, introduction, thank you, and exit. Think
about what
attitude you would most like to show in the audition room, and cultivate
this
attitude until it is habitual. It is completely possible to appear grounded,
excited
about your work, and happy to meet the people in the room, regardless
of the
atmosphere, or your nerves, if you choose your attitude consciously and
practice
it enough.
Things I learned from William H
Macy
This is just a brief blog to note some of the great things that Ive learned
from listening and reading W H Macy.

People say hes the same in every movie, but frankly, thats bullshit. Yes,
hes been successful in some similar roles, but hes starred in a vast
amount of movies and television shows. Hes made more than 115
appearances on the big and small screen in many diverse roles. If you
only know him as Jerry from Fargo, try seeing him in ER or Edmond.

Here are some simple, some inspiring, some thought provoking quotes
from Macy:

As frightening as it was, I found that when I was on stage, I was less

self-conscious, then I was the rest of the time

I think its really dangerous to characterise the character youre

playing, to put a label on him.

Quite often, people who are going through great tragedy are quite
placid on the outside. I find that so much more moving

In times of havoc, you will do what you habitually do

William H Macy at the Actors

Studio
Hey guys, Im always looking out for interesting and inspirational things
to post here for you. Most recently, I watched a tremendous episode
of Inside the Actors Studio, which featured Macy. I enjoyed it all, but at
the end, he said things that so categorically aligned with my view of
acting, I wanted to share it with you. Its quite long, but check it out
nonetheless, and maybe it will speak to you as it spoke to me:

Bill Macy:
The whole thing about your emotions is, Grotowski found this out, if you
perform an action, it will have an emotional reaction, you couldnt stop it
if you tried. Your emotions will come out. You cannot bring them forth
and you cannot hide them, they will come out. And theres never been a
scene that is about being sad. There are scenes about making a bond,
thats something you can do, but being sad, youre gonna fake it, youre
just gonna be pretending. What the audience needs to know is that
youre making a bond or youre getting a promise, or that youre laying
down the law. These are things that are within your will, thats what
counts. And Ill go further. Actors are emotional people, the question
always, should actors be emotional people? You are emotional people,
And heres the thing, you are sufficient. You dont have to improve
yourself. First of all, youre not gonna. In your study of acting, youre not
gonna become better people. You are sufficient, youre enough, youve
got the goods, youre completely emotional enough. What we need from
you is your bravery, your will. If you do it right, the journey of the
character is strangely similar to the journey of the actor. In other words,
the fear that the character feels is so similar to the fear that you feel. At
some point, you have to stop saying, Im wrong to feel this way, I should
be feeling something different. The character should be feeling a certain
thing. Nah, if youre feeling it, its real.

The purpose of the technique, always always is to free your

subconscious, because thats where the truth lies. Thats why you have
a technique, so that you can let the inner stuff out, you wanna get out of
your head and become impulsive. Thats where youll find the truth. And
youve got the goods folks, you are sufficient.

Top Ten Tips for Cold Reading:

(Auditions Not Psychics)
Thanks Ethan for your request of some tips on cold reading. I hope this
helps you and everybody else!

ONE: TRAIN FOR IT

More and more auditions involve cold readings of monologues or
dialogues.
Its something youre going to spend a lot of time doing. For that reason,
you need to prepare for it. But what preparation can you do? You can
cold read a ton of things at home, pick up anything and practice cold
reading it: the tv guide, a novel, a play, the bible, it doesnt matter, just
practice picking up things and reading them out loud.

TWO: SLOW DOWN

People tend to garble when theyre nervous. They speak really really fast
and it damages their audition because no one can understand them.
Whilst the panel will expect you to be nervous, speaking too quickly will
kill your articulation.

THREE: RAPID ANALYSIS

Make an analysis of the scene as quickly as you can. What does the
character want the other character to do as a result of hearing your
words? If you can answer even this question, you will give yourself a
tone for the scene based on context. If you have time to work out
an Essential Action for your character in the scene, such as To bring
someone down a peg or two or To get someone to crown me Queen, or
To get what I deserve youll have something strong to act in your
scene, not just the words.

FOUR: WARM UP
If you can, do a quick warm up before you start (obviously not in view of
the panel). So before they bring you in, have a good stretch, do some
spinal rolls, have a few good deep breaths through your mouth to slow
down your heart beat and make yourself more comfortable. Warm your
mouth up with a couple of tongue twisters to prevent yourself from
getting tongue-tied in the audition.

FIVE: LEARN TO READ SENTENCES NOT WORDS

One of the keys to cold reading is the ability to take in a sentence at a
glance, and then whilst acting that line to scan ahead to see the next
line. This is not easy, so practice it as part of your regular cold reading
practice. Speak one line, scan ahead to the next.

SIX: LINE LEARNING?

Ive heard some people advise cold readers to try to learn the script
quickly. NONSENSE. Youre going to end up confused, stuck half in
memory, half trying to act in the moment. Dont even think about it
unless they give you a couple of hours!

SEVEN: READ
Spend the time that you have with the script reading it over and over,
dont work out how youre going to say the lines, just read it over and
over until youre comfortable with it. Until you just have a feel for it and
the words are easy with you. This will help you live in the moment when
the audition comes.

EIGHT: RESEARCH
If you know what show they are doing, read the play in advance. Most
scripts are available through Amazon, Alibris or the Drama Bookshop in
New York. While they might not have you read from the script, you will
be prepared if they do!

NINE: PLEASANT IN AND OUT

Walk in with a big natural smile, and say hello if they are looking at you.
Again, when theyre done with you, regardless of how you felt youve
done, just give a big lovely smile and say thanks or thank you very
much. Being lovely is something to cultivate there are too many prima
donnas still.

TEN: LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY

Youre going to be nervous and cold reading auditions are fairly fraught
experiences. So remember to listen carefully to any instructions that you
get before or during the audition. Listen to the director carefully and
speak clearly yourself.

We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.

- Aristotle

Acting through Song: Help for

Acting Singers or Singing Actors
The singing actor has one great advantage over the stage actor they
have music. Music has a physical effect upon the central nervous system
of both performer and audience, and the actors singing voice has the
same effect on the audience. This means that the singing actor can
move an audience in a way that no straight play can ever do.

The voice of the performer, coupled with the music and the words,
creates an effect in the audience that cannot be topped. The singing
actor has something special, the ability to move without a call to the
intellect of the audience. Their audience responds unconsciously,
truthfully and with full emotion. The filtering, editing effect of the brain
does not have a chance to destroy the moment.

Acting the song requires two things:

- A good strong, supple singing voice with an adequate vocal range

- A technique or ability to connect you to the song

We approach the playing of a song like we approach the playing of a

monologue, but we are restricted by the musical rhythm (like in
Shakespeare, we must stick to the metre). This indicates to us a certain
flow of the song, but still allows us our own way of approaching the song,
and how we play it.

Perform a simple analysis on the song, by asking the questions:

- What is my character literally doing?

- What does my character want the other character to do as a result of
this song?
- What is(are) the obstacle(s) between my character and their desire?
- What is the essential action?
- Whats it like to me?
- What analogous circumstances exist in my world that help me connect
to that essential action?
- What tactics would you employ? A tactic is best summed up as a verb
that can be done to someone else such as mock, berate, stroke,
challenge, implore etc.

The main tool here, once the direction of the piece is ascertained, is
finding the analogous circumstances by using an As-If. This will give
your body a great sense of what it means to play that Essential Action
and all the ways that you might try to get your action accomplished.
Working to improvise or play with the analogous circumstances will
provide you with a truthful bed rock for the song.

The ability to distill your characters task down to the lowest common
denominator (the simplest form) is the real test. After that, live truthfully
and the song will fly.

Practical Aesthetics Guide

Practical Aesthetics Acting Classes
Back in the eighties, award winning director and playwright David Mamet
teamed up with his old friend, the now famous actor William H Macy, and
did something a little bit different.

Mamet and Macy got together with a group of drama students from New
York University and held what they described as a Practical Aesthetics
workshop. So exciting was what they explored, that a book was
subsequently published; A Practical Handbook for The Actor, and the
Atlantic Theatre Company was formed with Practical Aesthetics at its
foundation. Atlantic has since become one of the most successful and
critically acclaimed theatre companies in New York.

So whats Practical Aesthetics all about then?

Well, the most important thing to say about it is that its a modern and
pragmatic approach to actor training. It doesnt throw the baby out with
the bathwater though, since it is founded on the work of key theatre
practitioners (such as Stanislavski and Meisner), yet moves dynamically
forward.

Lets turn our attention to the key elements of a Practical Aesthetics

Acting Class:

The Practical Approach

A Practical Aesthetics Acting Class focuses (in contrast to the ethereal

and internal Method approach) on what the Actor is actually doing or
trying to do within the scene, and in the moment.

Acting is about action then, and as such its the actors actions that
construct the dynamics of the character as perceived by the audience.
A Practical Aesthetics Acting Class helps the actor find key goals to
pursue within each and every scene, with the complete freedom to be
natural and truthful every time.

Voice & Body The Foundation

Since the voice and body are the actors instruments, a Practical
Aesthetics student will learn simple and effective techniques to optimise
these instruments. To encourage a state of readiness and flexibility.

The body and its muscles, including those affecting breathing and clarity
of speech will be lightly stretched and relaxed tension in mind and
body can be the enemy of even the best actors.
Likewise, expect a Practical Aesthetics Class to give you some
fundamental exercises to warm the larynx, and some verbal gymnastics
to loosen the jaw, tongue and lips.

Since its said that only seven percent of our communication comes
solely from the words we choose, the remaining ninety three percent is
greatly influenced by vocal nuances of tone, pitch and rhythm as well as
body language.

Repetition Technique/Exercise

Warming up of voice and body is fundamental across all types of actor

training. However, its in the next phase of learning known as the
Repetition Technique or Repetition Exercise, where the Practical
Aesthetics acting student begins to specialise.

There is little benefit in explaining the mechanics of this exercise in

detail like a good script its designed to be acted upon, not talked
about. However, the Repetition Exercise has at its core one of the most
valuable tools of any great actors craft the development of
observation skills.

Great observation skills are truly invaluable to an actor for they

encourage: an alert attentiveness, an ability to absorb minute details of
communication (particularly in its non verbal form) and crucially, to react
truthfully to what they have in front of them.

It also has a style of approach which encourages two actors to engage

with each other in a specific form of dialogue which prepares them for
the later activity of setting out to achieve a goal or Essential Action.

The Repetition Exercise can be fun, demanding and occasionally gently

competitive. The student learns to use the other person to influence how
they behave something that runs throughout the different stages of a
Practical Aesthetics Acting Class.

When the most wonderfully electric scenes are carried out by fine actors
on the stage and screen, they are fresh, alive and full of energy. Thats
usually because the actors are reacting off of each other. This avoids
the notion of deadly theatre where a play is exhaustingly rehearsed in
the same manner and tone, and the actors become automatons and
leave the audience bored and unengaged.
Acting is re-acting, and the Repetition Exercise is an invaluable process
to practice that skill.

Script Analysis

A vast amount of blood, sweat and tears is produced when a writer

creates a good script. Every word on the page or even lack of them, are
there for a reason. Its the actors job to read, absorb and analyse the
scenes written. Then to formulate ideas, observations and decisions on
how to act upon that information.

In Practical Aesthetics, scene analysis follows simple, flexible and

effective steps. You are encouraged to define:

What the character is literally doing

This is as simple as it sounds identify what the character is actually
doing in the scene, without judgement or metaphor. This might be as
plain as having a job interview with a prospective employer, buying
some flowers from a shopkeeper or a couple talking about troubles in
their relationship. Knowing this gives you the anchor for the scene, and
requires no clever interpretation its the base level of what the
audience sees.

The Wants
Having established what the character is literally doing, you then move
on to defining what they actually want over the period of the scene.
However, its important for the want to be based on the other person
in the scene. And so, it becomes about wanting something from the
other. Using the last of the above literal situations, an example might be
the girlfriend wants the boyfriend to swallow his pride.

The Essential Action

From there, the actor takes that information and formulates it into what
Practical Aesthetics describes as an essential action. Again, as was
mentioned earlier, the actor is focusing on what they do to the other
person. Therefore, encapsulating the entirety of the scene, the essential
action should be expressed in the form of getting something from
someone. If we use the couple again, her essential action might be to
get a loved one to take a chance.

The choice of essential actions can be vast, but the Practical Aesthetics
approach dictates that an essential action is only valid when it meets all
of nine criteria set out below:
1) It must be in line with the playwrights intentions
2) It must not be an errand
3) It must have a cap
4) It mustnt be emotionally or physically manipulative
5) It mustnt predetermine an emotional state
6) It must have its test in the other person
7) It must be specific
8) It must be physically capable of being done
9) It must be fun

Its not important to explain these here, but it is important to know that
this checklist forces the actors to get to the crux of what they want to
achieve, and gives them focus and a sense of purpose in the scene.

The beauty of Practical Aesthetics is that none of these guidelines

prescribe a method of achieving your essential action. Yet it does help
you formulate a huge array of potential tactics you might use to get
there. This brings up the following questions:

Q. Which tactics do you use in the scene?

A. Whichever one seems to work.

Q. How do you know if your tactics work?

A. Look for the evidence in the other actor!

Q. What if the other person in the scene is creating obstacles and

refusing to bend?
A. Use a different one and try again make it impossible for them not to
be affected.

Remember, your scene partner has identified their wants and essential
actions and potential tactics to affect you too. Thus, the game is on; let
the playing begin.

The As-If
In rehearsal, the Practical Aesthetics Actor will take the essential action
and personalise it to mean something to them. So if the essential action
is to get a loved one to take a chance, they might say its as if I was
convincing my brother to get over his ex, and ask out the girl next door.
The key is, it must mean something important to you, and it must be
plausible enough for you to invest your energy in it.
This gives the actor the basis for trying out different tactics with a scene
partner using improvisation, without initially concerning themselves with
the actual text of the play.

The object of this exercise is for the different tactics to become habitual,
and the actual text of the scene can be introduced later, now those
tactical muscles have been flexed.

A good actor is an intrepid explorer of scenes, and a Practical Aesthetics

Acting Class gives you the map and the compass. The beauty of it is how
you interpret them, and how you choose to get to your treasure, is up to
you and theres never only one journey.

With all the above preparation, analysis and practice put in, the Practical
Aesthetics actor can embark on any given performance with the
confidence of knowing what they are setting out to achieve, and the
freedom and flexibility to act, and react to, what is actually happening in
that specific and unique moment in time, with whoever is on stage with
them.

Practical Aesthetics avoids the trap of the Method Actor: self absorption
and self analysis. By taking the attention away from you and onto the
other, you truly become liberated to act and live in the moment. Youre
no longer trapped inside your head, no two performances will ever be
identical, and the magic of storytelling casts its spell on the audience.

Thats what makes Practical Aesthetics so wonderful an approach. Like

an athlete you have done everything you need to prepare for the race,
and are skilled enough to let your instincts take over once the starting
gun has fired.

Like an athlete though, the Practical Aesthetics actor has to work and
train hard. The approach is not complex, its not mystical, and it doesnt
require psychological introspection. Its capacity to help you grow as an
actor is limited only by your courage of determination, commitment and
application.

As any good Practical Aesthetics teacher will tell you, great acting skills
are about hard work and application its not a question of simply
talent or being gifted. A Practical Aesthetics Acting Class will give
the student the tools and techniques required to gather information from
the script, apply some key criteria that means something to them, and
carry out specific actions in a scene with a free-flowing, unrehearsed
manner.
In summary, Practical Aesthetics Acting Classes equip the actor with
practicable tools designed to give the actor freedom of choice over what
to do rather than worrying about how to be.

The Essential Action

The Essential Action is a vital part of the scene analysis tools for
Practical Aesthetics. When you understand how to build a good essential
action for yourself and you can glean them from the script, you will be
one step closer to making acting simpler and more fun.

So what is an Essential Action? Something like Stanislavskis task - it

has the quality of something that needs to be achieved. It is like boiling
down the essence of what the character is trying to achieve from the
other character in the scene. It is an active task, with a quality of a goal
or objective about it, and according to the original PAW members and
the current Atlantic Acting School teachers, it has 9 criteria:

1) It must be Physically Capable of Being Done (the characters aim is

tangible, so must yours be)

2) It must be specific (Stanislavski used to say that generality is the

enemy of all art, so get specific)

3) It must have its test in the other person (takes the focus off you and
makes you much more interesting)

4) It must have a physical cap (a sign that you have achieved the
essential action transformed into a physical essence)

5) It must not be manipulative (dont try to control the other actor.

Influence yes, but not control)

6) It must not presume a physical or emotional state in self or

other (getting someone to stop crying presumes)

7) It must not be an errand (Send a message thats an errand. To get

someone to do my bidding, now thats an Essential Action)

8) It must be in line with the playwrights intentions (as close as possible

you never know their internal intentions, but those of the play)
9) It should be fun (this is important, but not ha ha fun, something that
engages your sense of play)

They usually start with the words to get someone to. Some
practitioners exchange the someone for a more relationship specific
word, and some remove it all together, so to get someone to share their
terrible secret can become to get a loved one to share their terrible
secret or simply share your terrible secret. I like the relationship
context, it helps you to find an analogous connection to it through an As
If.

The Essential Action offers the actor a way of taking the essence of what
the character is doing and turning it into something that he or she can
do too.

So you read the scene and you reckon the characters essential action is
to bring someone down a peg or two. Its a lovely fun thing to do in a
scene and it fully engages the actor in the psychophysical task of trying
to get their scene partner to down a peg or two. By offering the actor a
way of coming into line with the character, we create the illusion of
character. The actor always has something to do on stage, the essential
action gives them that something to do, they move beyond the words,
they move beyond the printed scene into a relationship that triangulates
the playwrights words, the actions of themselves and their scene
partner and the imagination of the audience. When all these work
together, when you begin working off the other actor, using your
essential action and the words of the playwright, you enter flow and so
do the audience.

They Call it Text Analysis

They call it Text Analysis, but I always think that sounds rather
academic. In Practical Aesthetics, we have some clear concise questions
that we ask to help us understand the scene of a play or film. The
question that really helps the actor to begin unlocking the scene is:

What does your character want the other character to do as a RESULT of

their actions?

We call this THE WANT. (and you wont find it in the Practical Handbook
for the Actor because it was added after that book was published)
Sometimes its known as an:

Objective
Desire
Need
Goal
Target

Characters want things for themselves, but they usually want them from
other people. David Mamet says The characters got to want something
specific. No matter what they say, theyre after something, theyre
seeking a goal, theyve got an objective. As Mamet says:
People may or may not say what they mean, but they always say
something designed to get what they want.

The essential part of the WANT question is what does the character
WANT the other character to DO.Your character wants the other
character to do something. Your actions on stage must aim to glean a
response from the other actor to parallel the drive the character feels to
achieve something from one of the other characters, occasionally
themselves. This can range from my character wants the other character
pay them attention, to lend them money, to do their dirty work.
Its important to keep it very simple and write (in order to identify it, to
articulate it) it in physically achievable terms. See how I was able to
write the WANT in THREE words each time. Try to keep it minimal. I
sometimes change the tense to first person so pay me attention, lend
me money or do my dirty work thinking from the perspective of the
character, but as a recent anonymous commenter pointed out its
probably better to have the WANT in the 3rd Person.

The WANT compels the character to action. Having a strong WANT will
give you a very big clue as to how to construct an effective ESSENTIAL
ACTION. Using a strong want to create a strong ESSENTIAL ACTION will
compel YOU to action.

By answering this question with the DO, it makes the WANT something
tangible. However, remember that the WANT is something that the
fictional character desires, something that drives them, their motivating
force.

The reason that other actors look silly asking Whats my motivation for
this scene is that the motivation is provided by the playwright for the
character alone. You will never have the same desire as the character in
the play. The WANT is not yours, it is a target for the character and
although the audience may be aware of it through the writing of the
script, your job is to find a strong and fun ESSENTIAL ACTION that aims
to capture it. In the pursuit of that action, you will create become
compelling and come to life, you will begin to live truthfully.

Your characters desire is the reason that they are in the scene in the
first place. All characters have a WANT. Your job is to discover the most
practical WANT for the scene and find the strongest universal ESSENTIAL
ACTION for the scene.

WANT offers a way to help you to bring the character to life by bringing
yourself to life with something concrete to do, but it is not your want and
so the essential action is what converts it into something simple and
truthful for you to do. Others cant understand how simply this works.
Life is goal and action, so it is in the scene, without goal and action there
is pretense and entropy.

Sloppy Repetition
Meisner believed actors do not listen. They are so focused on what they
have to do that they rarely listen and connect with their partners truely. I
would go one further and suggest this is not a problem for actors, this is
a problem for the human race. Yesterday I had an experience on the
telephone and it made me think about how we do not listen. We gloss
over, we fill in the blanks, we presume, but we dont listen

CALLER: Hello, Mr Jones?

ME: No.

CALLER: Hello there Mr Jones, Im calling from SOME COMPANY TRYING

TO SELL YOU SOMETHING THAT YOU DONT WANT.

Now how was this boy going to sell me something if he hadnt listened to
see if I was Mr Jones or not? He wasnt listening, he was too focused on
his task to actually care about the one person that could help him do his
job better. It is the same for the actor.

Until now, Ive resisted writing about the repetition exercise or game.
Personally, I think talking about it dilutes it somewhat. Yet, theres no
better exercise for the actor that teaches them to listen, pay attention to
their partner, see what changes in their partner and educates them in
how to connect with their partner, whether their partner is connected to
them or not.
To me, one of the big problems with students as they get better at the
exercise is that they no longer focus on being precise about the
repetition. In other words, they sort of gloss over the cracks, presuming,
reading, fortune telling the response, and not allowing the moment to be
true.

REPEAT WHAT YOU HEAR is one of the basic tenets of the exercise, yet
people want to lead, they want to abuse, control, bully, compete with
the other person. Just repeat what you hear with your own perspective.

Repetition becomes fake when you begin to try to take control. Do you
see? Its not ABOUT YOU. Its about the OTHER person.

When you take control of the repetition, you are getting sloppy, you are
no longer truly PAYING ATTENTION TO YOUR PARTNER. You make
assumption and presumptions. You can afford to neither.

How many times do we hear the same old predictable calls made when
someone does something that you recognise. You say ah yes, thats
this, before you even look to see what it truly is. You must be on the
ball, thats what being in the moment is about, but you must also be
exact, you must be precise, you must learn to see the difference
between disagreement and surprise (for instance).

Challenge yourself to take your time next time you are up doing
repetition. Challenge yourself to say what it is, not what you have gotten
used to saying. When I was training, I remember that one of my
classmates would also use youre stuck in your head or youre in your
head whenever she couldnt think of anything else to say. She was
learning to lie and this exercise is about revealing the truth.

Repetition is about learning to see what behaviour your scene partner is

exhibiting so that you can learn to address that behaviour with your
actions.

Sloppy repetition improves no one. It simply allows you to lie to yourself,

and to your scene partner.

Repetition for Beginners

I hate WordPress: this is my third attempt at writing this for you, fingers
crossed this time. :o)
Repetition or the Repetition Exercise or Game was developed by Sandy
Meisner in the USA to train actors to actively listen to each other and
pay attention to their stage partners. Repetition is a foundation exercise
in Practical Aesthetics, the approach to acting developed by David
Mamet & WH Macy.

Traditionally actors do not need to listen to each other. Theyve

rehearsed the scene in the same way throughout the entire rehearsal
process, so they know whats coming next. This means that their skill
must be in pretending to respond truthfully to something theyve heard
hundreds of times. However, sooner or later, your performance will
degrade over time. This might be fine on film but on the stage, where
you need to remain spontaneous night after night, it becomes
problematic.

In Meisners view and that of practitioners of Practical Aesthetics, actors

should listen and should not set their performances in stone. In the
words of Mike Alfreds, they should be different every night.

If your performance is to be truly spontaneous and immediate (meaning

based on whats happening here and now rather than copying what
happened in rehearsal ad naseum), then you must learn to work off what
the other actor is doing in this moment.

Repetition helps you to build the skills to deal with this new spontaneous
and immediate style of performance.

Repetition is simple. Say something truthful about the other person and
then that person repeats from their perspective and continue to repeat
what you hear until something happens that makes you change. For
example:

Youre unsure
Im unsure
Youre unsure
Im unsure
Youre unsure
Im unsure
Youre unsure
Im unsure
Youre unsure
Im unsure
Youre unsure
Im unsure
Etc etc

Theres no need to do anything, theres no need to change what you say

or how you say it unless you see something new occurring.

Simply put: if you see the person fidgeting and biting their lip, you may
believe they are nervous, then say it and continue to repeat (until one of
you sees some new change occuring).

Youre unsure
Im unsure
Youre unsure
Im unsure (you see them bite their lip)
Youre nervous
Im nervous
Youre nervous
Im nervous
Youre nerbus (you hear them err)
You made a mistake
I made a mistake (they go red)
Youre embarrassed
Im embarrassed
Youre embarrassed
Im embarrassed
Youre embarrassed
Im embarrassed

As David Mamet says Invent Nothing, Deny Nothing. This means that
you do NOT need to change anything on purpose but if you see a change
in your repetition partner, then say it, dont deny it. Remember
its Invent Nothing, Deny Nothing.

There are three rules for repetition:

1) Tell the Truth

2) If in doubt Repeat
3) Dont stop playing the game: keep playing if you get it right, get it
wrong, completely fuck it up or a herd of gazelles tramples your
classmates. Place your focus on your partner and play the game until
youre told to stop.
You must allow yourself to be influenced by the other actor and to
inadvertently (at this stage) influence their behaviour (without
attempting to do so).

This game has no winner, its not a competition. When you make a
mistake or get stuck for words just attempt to keep going, your worst
mistakes are gifts to your fellow repetition practitioner that will keep the
game going.

Simply say what you see regardless of social politeness. Meisner used to
say Fuck Polite. He doesnt mean be rude, he simply means that if you
are an actor, you must be open to live truthfully under a wide range of
imaginary circumstances and scenarios. For this reason, the actor must
be unrestricted by social niceties in order to prepare to do this. Its not
about being mean to each other, its about being open enough to say
what you see and respond to it.

Over time your repetition skills are integrated into your scene work.
From herein its just practise. So what are you waiting for? Get
practising!

See you in class!

Introducing the Simplest Acting

Technique in the World
Sometimes the best way to improve on something is to discard
everything that came before and start from scratch. A few years ago, I
created and trademarked a technique called Task Jamming. To my
mind, it is one of the simplest and most effective acting techniques
available, but it really requires that the actor let go of a lot of beliefs
about what acting is, in order to improve their performances and meet
their real potential.

Thats harder than it seem. Our beliefs become hardwired into us,
literally part of who we are.

Task Jamming requires a good understanding of the psychological drive

of the character. So lets say its to get someone to swallow a bitter pill
like delivering some bad news to someone that they wont want to hear.
(This requires some knowledge of script and scene analysis)
All your behaviour, your tactics, the things you do to the other actor
have to derive from this mindset. These are primarily psychological, and
come in the form of transitive verbs. (Ones that fit between and I you)

And this is the simple part. Say aloud what the other actor is doing
psychologically. (This requires some knowledge of the repetition
exercise)

Youre distracted.

Say it aloud again, but this time, like you want to discourage them from
being unsettled (they cant swallow the bitter pill unless they are calm
again)

Choose a tactic that you would instinctively do to someone you wanted

to be settled, so that you could achieve your goal of delivering this bad
news.

So you might do this:

CALM: Youre distracted.

Youve acknowledged what they are really doing right now. Not what
they are saying, but what they are doing, not what they are pretending
to do, but what they are actually doing.

Now we force that decision through both your response to what they are
doing, and your next line.

CALM: Youre distracted. CALM Call him up, ask him

Then the other actor sees the HUGGING from their perspective, perhaps
they find it patronising and deflect it.

DEFLECT Youre patronising DEFLECT Maybe later

Then you see the deflection, and perhaps you quickly focus them.

FOCUS Call About Their Behaviour FOCUS Line from the Script.

This goes back and forth from the beginning of the scene until the end. A
continued cycle of acknowledging with a response and letting that
response affect the lines, and then your scene partner does the same
thing. Like the infinity symbol
Ill be honest, it doesnt even feel like acting. It is acknowledging whats
happening in the present moment. Its having an opinion on that which
comes from your Task/Mindset and making sure that your
opinion/response/tactic is pushed through into the lines.

Once youve mastered this level of the technique, you simply do the call
part in your head which is great, because the audience see a
physiological response in you before the line comes out something that
is always incredibly difficult to achieve through purely acting.

No character, no transformation, no magical acting talent, just a simple

infinity loop being used over and over again.

Acting with Adverbs

Today in my regular Monday night Monologue class, we were discussing
the notion of quality of tactic. Sometimes when your monologue seems
to be flat or all in one colour, changing the quality will make a big
difference. When Im directing, I like to work with qualities (that is if I
need lines) or part of a chunk of a scene (you can call it a unit if you like,
I prefer chunk) delivered in a different way. I offer the actor some
adverbs, some descriptive qualities to try their choice of tactic.

Thanks to Ian Watt for pointing out the hard/soft or light/dark qualities
that some actors need to get out of a rut. Rather than thinking in
intangible forms like soft and hard, or light and dark, I offer these very
tangible adverb qualities to use instead:

Acting with Adverbs/Qualities:

Suggestively

Gently

Boldly

Mischievously

Hesitantly

Sincerely

Confidently
Eagerly

Scornfully

Disgustedly

Carefully

Shamefully

Casually

There are many more, please choose carefully as some move you too
powerfully towards playing a state.

What do you teach people?

Its a good question and one that I teach people pragmatism. Ive been
in acting classes. Ive read many acting books. Ive trained as an actor,
before becoming a director and an acting coach. The trouble I found was
a lack of pragmatism. Advice to actors was always given in such airy-
fairy ways that I couldnt make head nor tail of it. And of course, I felt
like the idiot, like the bad person, like the moron for not understanding.
But how could I understand? They were teaching me stuff that didnt
connect training to practice.

So when people ask what I teach, I say I teach pragmatism. I want the
actor to know HOW to get better, without getting lost in the ether of
creativity, feeling, emotion, and etc etc blah blah blah. This pragmatism
comes from Practical Aesthetics, which as my new friend Mark Coleman
says is repackaged Meisner or repackaged Stanislavski. Well I partly
agree its a lot of things brought together into something unique that
works, and something that works ALL the time, rather than just when the
muse strikes or the crow flies.

What I teach are very simply techniques, they work pretty much straight
the way. Depending upon the student, they may take some time, or one
student may take longer to understand something than another, or a
younger student may be less inhibited, or an older student may have a
sharper mind for scene analysis. I dont teach a system. I teach an
approach: a way of thinking about acting, a philosophy of acting which
believes that it should be simple and fun.
Im teaching common sense. Im teaching tools that can be picked up
and used immediately. Its true that you will need to use the tools for
many years before you gain complete mastery, but you will gain
mastery. You will have control and you will know how to use them to get
the results that you want.

I teach Common Sense. I cant explain it any different.

Tips on Script Reading

Some thoughts on Script Reading:

It is not necessary for the actor to have an academic or literary interest

or analysis of the script. Scripts are not to be examined by scientists or
philosophers: they are to be acted by actors. Thats their only real point
and purpose. Academia and schooling have often killed a persons
natural interest in reading plays. The questions that one should ask
when reading a play (known as Script Analysis) can be found after this
section, but they are not academic. They are vital in providing the actor
with an understanding of what is happening dramatically through the
action of the play. Reading a script for the first time is an important time
as you will never have that experience again. You should set time aside
to read it when you will not be disturbed. You cannot undervalue or
disrespect a play more than failing to give it the due attention on its first
reading. Stanislavski in his third book on acting Creating a Role gives
us a note on this important first reading:

How many of us make serious preparation for the first reading of a

play? We read it hurriedly, wherever we may be, in a railroad train, a
cab, during intermissions, and we do it not so much because we want to
come to know the play but because we want to imagine ourselves in
some fat part. Under such circumstances we lose an important creative
occasion- an irreparable loss, because later readings are deprived of the
element of surprise
How many times should you read the script? Countless times is the best
answer, most actors wont, even if they should and this is significantly
flaws their own character and later their acting. If you are rushed or
stretched for time before rehearsals commence, its best to read it as
follows:

The First Read Through Undisturbed, reading it all the way through in a
quiet environment. Not so cosy that the senses are dulled. It needs to be
read with the acting brain switched firmly on.
Technical Read Through - This time, as you read it through, make little
notes in the script indicating words phrases, references etc. that you do
not understand. Dont be vain and foolish and ignore them. They will
come back to haunt and embarrass you if you dont comprehend their
meaning fully.

Learning Read Through -This time you should read the play through with
a dictionary and the Internet to hand. As you reach each of the words,
phrases look them up to ensure you understand their meaning.

My Part Read Through Only read your parts of the play through. Use
this to grasp the part your character plays in the story of the script.

Other POV Read Through Read through noting all the things that are
said by other characters, your own character or the playwright about the
role you are playing.

Circumstantial Read Through - The final stage, used for gleaning the
External Imaginary Circumstances and listing them for helpful use during
rehearsals. The actor that does their preparation in advance of
rehearsals has a head start.

Inspiring Quotes on Acting

I thought today Id find out some great advice from some different
sources; look at some sterling quotes and advice from some top actors
and then reproduce it here for you. As it happened, only one turned to
be from an actor as such, but much of this has inspired me for years.
Many of my students will recognise some of these. Some of them were
on the walls of my acting studio at GAMTA whilst I taught there. Of
course, they took them down afterwards, cos Practical Aesthetics was
really messing with their pretending mojo.

One of my favourites is from Denzel Washington, this is what the man

has to say: Do theatre, he said. Theatre, theatre, theatre. Especially
for the actors. And for the directors, take acting classes. Itll help you
understand what the actors are trying to achieve.

The lessons of the stage: are often devastating and almost beyond
bearing David Mamet
Where you stumble, there you shall find your treasure. Joseph
Campbell

(This one is for Carly Jane McGrath) Fail. Fail again. Fail
Better. Samuel Beckett

People may or may not say what they mean but they always say
something designed to get what they want. David Mamet

Silence is an absence of words, not an absence of meaning Sanford

Meisner

Acting is living truthfully, under the imaginary circumstances of the

play - Sanford Meisner

Your talent is in your choice Stella Adler

At the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre, Sanford Meisner

said, When you go into the professional world, at a stock theatre
somewhere, backstage, you will meet an older actor, someone who has
been around awhile. He will tell you tales and anecdotes, about life in
the theatre. He will speak to you about your performance and the
performances of others, and he will generalise to you, based on his
experience and his intuitions, about the laws of the stage. Ignore this
man! David Mamet

Study, find all the good teachers and study with them, get involved in
acting to act, not to be famous or for the money. Do plays. Its not worth
it if you are just in it for the money. You have to love it. Philip Seymour
Hoffman

Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting a particular way.

You become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing
temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions. Aristotle

FOR MY STUDENTS: Its not enough to have talent. You have to have a
talent for your talent. Stella Adler

FOR MARK COLEMAN: I wish the stage were as narrow as the wire of
tightrope dancer, so that no incompetent would dare step onto it.
Goethe
Quotes arent just cool things to say to people, theyre great for
reminding you of important truisms about acting and the stage. I love
having them around, they act as reminders to me. Hope you enjoyed.

Never forget acting is a big fat trick we play on an audience William H

Macy

The ideas of the great playwrights are almost always larger than the
experiences of even the best actors. Stella Adler

The actor is the athlete of the heart Antonin Artaud

Working in the theatre has a lot in common with unemployment Arthur

Gingold

It is a difficult profession and a frightening profession. Why is this? Just

as the character doesnt know how hes going to survive, as an actor,
when you get cast in that role, the fear is, How am I going to pull this
off? And we have technique, which we bring to bear to cover every base
that you possibly can. But the question remains, How do I pull this off?,
and the answer is not forthcomingnever has been, never will be. You
have to walk in terrified that youre going to fail. Theres no getting
around the fact that most actors, a lot of the time, feel like frauds. And
the mature actor says, Thats great. William H Macy

Create your own method. Dont depend slavishly on mine. Make up

something that will work for you! But keep breaking traditions, I beg
you Konstantin Stanislavski

Thinking about Tactics

Tactics (traditionally called actioning) are how the actor works off their
partner and how they deliver the lines of the text. You should never have
to think about the right way to say a line for two reasons. First, the line
has its own rhythm and cadence and second because with the correct
tactics being played, the line will take care of itself.

So what is a tactic? A tactic is a strategy for achieving a goal. A tactic is

best expressed as something that you can do to someone else, to get
what you want from them. THREATEN, BULLY, COAX, TORMENT, TEASE,
FLICK, DODGE etc. Tactics are playable by actors. They immediately
engage the actor in an entire psycho-physical process that brings them
alive in the moment. By using tactics, the actor is always engaged in a
continuous flow of action.

How do I pick the right tactic? After youve selected your target, goal or
objective, then you will know what kinds of tactics you might play. If
youre goal is to Knock Someone Off their High Horse you might choose
DERIDE, INSULT, MOCK, TEASE, LOWER, KICK, or UNDERMINE as tactics.
Again, they are immediately playable, but not all tactics suit all
situations. Some, like PUNCH, SLAP, SPANK or KISS sound very physical,
but they are not meant to be literally performed. These tactics given you
a sense of the quality of the tactic, without you have to overtly perform
this action.

Tactics need to change. Its too easy to get locked into similar or the
same tactic, so you should have a reserve ready. Some actors add
tactics to the sides of their scripts and that can work quite nicely, but it
tends to mean they set in concrete their tactics and their reactions very
early on. Ideally, you should be able to play any tactic that you believe
will work within the given circumstances.

To learn more about tactics why not contact me or even come to an

acting class starting soon!

Hamlets Advice to the Players

In the past, Ive had the fond privilege to teach the techniques of acting
Shakespeare to young actors. This is NOT a post about acting
Shakespeare. Instead, what I aim to do is to light your imagination
around some exceptional acting advice that Shakespeare offers us when
a fussing Hamlet offers his amateur perspective on acting, to the
professional players that arrived at Elsinore. Amateur he may be, but
thoroughly helpful the advice is, to all of us. So this post is focused
around understanding Hamlets advice and how it can help you too.

Im just going to focus on a portion, but to me, its the portion that really
counts. I dont doubt the rest is valuable, but this is what Im going to
blog about today:

HAMLET:
 Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to
you, trippingly on the tongue: but if you mouth it,
as many of your players do, I had as lief the
town-crier spoke my lines. Nor do not saw the air
too much with your hand, thus, but use all gently;
for in the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may say,
the whirlwind of passion, you must acquire and beget
a temperance that may give it smoothness. O, it
offends me to the soul to hear a robustious
periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters, to
very rags, to split the ears of the groundlings, who
for the most part are capable of nothing but
inexplicable dumbshows and noise: I would have such
a fellow whipped for oerdoing Termagant; it
out-herods Herod: pray you, avoid it.

FIRST PLAYER:
I warrant your honour.

HAMLET:
Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion
be your tutor: suit the action to the word, the
word to the action; with this special observance, oerstep not
the modesty of nature: for any thing so overdone is
from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the
first and now, was and is, to hold, as twere, the
mirror up to nature; to show virtue her own feature,
scorn her own image, and the very age and body of
the time his form and pressure. Now this overdone,
or come tardy off, though it make the unskilful
laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve; the
censure of the which one must in your allowance
oerweigh a whole theatre of others. O, there be
players that I have seen play, and heard others
praise, and that highly, not to speak it profanely,
that, neither having the accent of Christians nor
the gait of Christian, pagan, nor man, have so
strutted and bellowed that I have thought some of
natures journeymen had made men and not made them
well, they imitated humanity so abominably.
Shakespeare/Hamlet tell us to speak the lines trippingly - thats with a
general swiftness, not to labour over them. He insists that it is
performed as I pronounced it to you. Its easy to think that hes asking
them to repeat it as he has said it (in other words: hes a bad director
giving line readings) but instead, see it as Shakespeare saying As I have
written it for you (I can hear Mamet saying Just say the f*cking lines!).

But if you mouth it - if you mouth the lines if you simply go through
the motions, as many actors do, Id rather anyone (even the Town Crier)
shout the lines out, cos that would be better than simply mouthing the
lines. This is an anti-dote to people who think Mamets instructions to
speak up and just the say the lines means just mouthing the lines.
Dont be so naive and simplistic about it, theres much more.

Next Shakespeare warns us about extraneous gesture, soaring the air

too much - he tells us that our gesture and movement must be gentle,
or lets think subtle. Then he warns against getting too carried away in
the emotional storm of a role, but instead, temper it with smoothness.
Mamet could have written the same thing. The next part, Oh it offends
me well, for the Method actor, theyd say, it offends them to see
someone hamming it up, and being empty or not living the role, or
feeling the emotion. For the Practical Aesthetics actor, wed say much
the same about the Method actors. :o)

Hamlet/Shakespeare continues warning us, not to be too tame, dont be

too subtle and underact, but let your own discretion (Common Sense)
be your guide. And then some simple and brilliant advice. Suit the action
to the word, the word to the action. Connect what youre doing with
what youre saying and what youre saying with what youre doing a
call for psychophysical action?

Then we get a special note, a special observance dont step beyond

the modesty of truthfulness, for anything that goes beyond this, is not
acting, it is not playing. And then Shakespeare/Hamlet gives us a
beautiful description of the purpose of acting/playing: to hold the mirror
up to nature. Note here he doesnt say to become nature, to ape nature,
to copy nature, to become the role, to tell a story BUT to hold the
mirror up to nature. In the mirror is the reflection of nature, not nature
itself. In other words: truthfulness but not necessarily realism.
Guest Blog on Comedy Acting
with Ian Watt
Todays blog is a Guest Blog on Comedy Acting, written by our Guest
Blogger, Mr Ian Watt.

I noticed the subject of corpsing was raised in Marks blog recently. The
practical solution was for the actor to focus on their essential action and
it got me thinking about other banana skins which can trip up an actor in
the serious matter of comedy acting.

Playing the lines for laughs

Laughter is a powerfully seductive sound of to a performer. It both

comforts, and confirms the audience likes you! Its addictive quality
however, can tempt the actor to play the lines or action for laughs. They
then find theyve stepped beyond the imaginary circumstances of the
play and turned it into a sketch show destroying the focus on the
narrative or story.

My own experiences as a Stand Up comedian taught me to look

audience members in the eye, and that it was often very useful to carry
a big stick! Comedians make direct contact with the audience; if and
when the laughs come they can enjoy them with them. The comedians
sole aim is to rack up the laugh count and squeeze as many as they can
from their material. The actor should match their performance with the
authors intent and the overall context of the story.

An audience comment after a play I performed in recently was it was

good because the actors didnt laugh at the same time as the audience.

Anticipation and signalling

Especially on long runs, the actor runs the risk of showing the
audience something funny is about to happen. The actor knows what is
coming next, anticipates the joke and the riotous laughter to follow. The
audience picks up on the signal and the potentially side-splitting
moment the writer has crafted is reduced in the process. Comedy is
devious. It often depends on surprise and misleading the audience.

Ignoring the audience reaction

Another common pratfall for the actor is to disregard the audiences
laughter. This can result in important lines being drowned out. The actor
has to pause the thought and action until the audience is ready to
continue. Laughter can break the actors concentration of being in the
moment.

Summary

Marks solution to the corpsing problem is probably the best advice to

take with you on stage focus on the other actor and concentrate on
achieving your essential action. Finally, a Polish director once
commented to me Fucking stand up comedians! Yes comedy is a
funny thing.
Ian Watt is an experienced actor, comedian, teacher and designer. He
appeared in Mark Westbrooks production of The Emotional Life of
Furniture at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow. He also attends Marks Acting
Classes in Practical Aesthetics and Monologue Preparation.

What to do with a Script

No one ever taught me to professionally read a script of any kind. Over
the years, I muddled through. If you read a script like a story, you are
reading it from a literary narrative perspective. Theres nothing wrong
with that, but you are missing an understanding of the sense of the
dramatic. I worry that Drama Schools and Universities do not teach
students how to read a script properly. Why not? Cos no one taught them
either. So, we get a set of highly analytical tools that offer us an
academic perspective, which is no use to anyone who wants to use it to
produce, act, write or direct.

Coquelin once wrote that the actor must read the play carefully over
many times, until he has grasped the intention of the author. Too many
actors are willing to accept their first impression of the script, and then
rush off to highlight their lines in pink. But without the tools to discover
the intention of the author who can blame them? It doesnt matter how
many times you read a play as a story, if you dont understand how the
play is made, youre off to a losing start.

Only after going to the Atlantic Theater Companys Acting School did I
have anything like a set of tools that could be used for professionally
reading a script. At Atlantic, we were taught to use some simple
Aristotelian ideas to disect a script and come to a solid understanding of
it so that we could figure out our characters part in the script.

Id like to offer you these tools in an easily accessible format and talk
you through them. My advanced students wont find this particularly
new, but might find the explanation interesting. When I pick up a script, I
read it once through for pleasure I published a guide to read
throughs in a past blog. From then on, Im looking at the script as a tool
of work, so I ask the question:

Q Whos Story is it? In other words, who is the protagonist? Over the
years many people have described the protagonist in different ways, but
I would define it as the character that undergoes the most change in the
course of the events of the play/film.

Q What is the Protagonists Driving Underlying Need? Ive added the

word driving to my own training, because I felt that the need should
compel the character throughout the film or play.

Q Through the Script, What Conflicts Arise As the Protagonist Attempts

to Fulfill their Need? Make a list of all the things: that happen, that others
do (the antagonist or antagonists) and they do to themselves that serve
as barriers, or obstacles, to the fulfillment of the need. Work through the
play until you know all the conflicts. Youre uncovering the drama of the
story of the film or play as you do so. Drama after all is conflict in action.

Q How does the Protagonist Change During the Course of the

Story? Look at their starting point, the need. Look at the conflicts. Now
see where they end up.

Then I do something of the same for the antagonist, and lastly for my
character to see how I fit into the overall story. (If Im not in the lead role
or the antagonist).

I use these exact same questions when Im writing a play to ensure that
the characters have clear driving needs, conflicts and journeys. The
clarity it provides to me as a writer is astonishing. This is the clarity it
offers the actor too. Yet, I fear, many are still willing to pick up the script
and start talking, as if the words were all there was there.

Is this all there is to know? No. Of course not. BUT, if this IS all you did,
youd still be better off than the people who only read the script through
or immediately get their highlighter out and starting counting the
number of lines theyve got in the script. These questions unlock the
script, and help you start approaching the role. Whether youre an actor,
director or writer, these questions each help you gain clarity.

Getting into Character

If youve read any of my previous posts on this topic, youll already know
what Im about to say, but Id like to explain it a little more.

Much of our training, the curriculum and even individual outcomes for
qualifications demand that were able to get into character or sustain
character. I remember long ago at college, one of the criteria to be
marked on was can effectively step in and out of character. Well,
whatever that means, Id like to take the opportunity to describe how I
believe you can get into character, or at least have that feeling.

The times that you have felt in character, you were not the character.
No one can be, its well meaning nonsense. During these times, you
made a connection to the text that allowed you to perform the actions of
the character in such a way that you felt it working right. In other words,
you were not the character, but you were doing something very similar
to the character. You were performing their actions.

I agree, you may have felt in character. I understand, Ive felt it too. But
I wasnt and sadly, neither were you. What happened is that you
performed these actions consistently and repeatedly and they werent
the types of actions or tactics that you would do yourself, so that you felt
removed from yourself. Add to this that you became so immersed in
what you were doing that your SELF consciousness didnt prevent you
from you enjoying acting the role. Furthermore, you were so immersed in
it, that you felt that everything you were doing WAS the character. Well,
it was, but it was you doing the characters actions without fear, self
consciousness it was you truly focused. Have you ever been to the
cinema/movie theater, watched a film and found yourself really sucked
into the film and then you think oh yeah, Im at the movies. Well,
thats whats happening to you on stage: your focus, concentration and
attention was so powerfully drawn that you had a brand new experience.
Under these conditions, you felt highly successful and surprised. You
named it being in character because you didnt know what else to call
it.

BUT but.. you cry: what about all these actors saying it takes ages to
get out of character? and havent I felt that feeling where its hard to
shake the character off? Yes. Yes! I know that feeling too, but it wasnt
you inhabiting the character. It was the characteristics of the character
inhabiting YOU.

Spooky? No, no, read what I wrote. It wasnt the character inhabiting
you, it was the habitual characteristics of the character being inside you.
What does this mean then? It means that if you perform the same
repeated psychophysical actions repeatedly, you will eventually
habituate those actions and any associated feelings. You will then find it
a little difficult to shake them off immediately. Some of the residual
connection between action and feeling will remain. Thats why you
struggle to shake off the character. I remember in University my friend
playing Carol in Oleanna. She came home and was horrible to everyone,
then she said oh sorry, Im just struggling to get out of character.
Everyone laughed, but the theatre students took it very seriously. When
we examine that situation, she had been rehearsing the final act of
Oleanna, where Carols actions (her tactics) are very negative,
challenging, confronting, insulting and attacking. If she spent all day
performing those, no doubt she habituated those tactics and any
associated feelings.

Character Motivations: Underlying

Driving Needs for Actors, Writers
and Directors
Yesterday I wrote about what to do with the script, examining the
starting point for actors, writers and directors when it comes to script
analysis.

Today I want to just highlight one of those questions, WHAT IS THE

CHARACTERS UNDERLYING DRIVING NEED?

But what are the needs? How do you establish them? Well, it is often
produced through the conflicts the character meets and the obstacles
they attempt to overcome. However, if youre unsure about how to even
start with needs, they are personal and basic. If you like, they are
what Marshall Rosenberg calls Present Needs. They drive the character
throughout the play, and without identifying it you fail to make an
effective bridge to the character through the script.
What kinds of needs are there? Rosenberg splits them into the following
sections:

1. CONNECTION such things as Acceptance, Security, Love and

Respect.
2. PHYSICAL WELL BEING such things Sleep, Food, Sex and Shelter.
(Maslow in Essence)
3. HONESTY such as the Truth and Integrity.
4. PLAY such as Joy, Creativity and Expression.
5. PEACE such as Order, Harmony and Inspiration.
6. MEANING (a huge category this but) such as Understanding, Hope
and Purpose.
7. AUTONOMY such as Freedom, Choice and Independence

To see ALL of Marshall Rosenbergs PERSONAL NEEDS and use them as a

short-hand lexicon when answering this question, this is a link to
Rosenbergs site page about Personal Needs. Writers, directors and
actors, print them out and use it as a sort of cheat sheet for working out
the Underlying Driving Needs of characters.

When I recently analysed the re-working of my old play Swingboats, I

found that using this question made it clear when characters were just
talking and when they were involved in the drama of the play.

Learning to Act
I get a lot of people asking me if I can help them learn to act. For an
acting coach, thats a tricky one. Why ? I hear you ask. Because surely if
Im good at my job, the answer is yes. Also, arent I always saying
ANYONE can learn to act. Yes its true, I do feel anyone could learn to
act. To me, living truthfully, which is the first half of Meisners famous
quote is possible for all of us. Its the second part that takes the gift. How
do you connect your truthfulness to the work of someone else? Thats a
tough one and its the very thing that separates all of our acting
techniques from each other.

Before I can teach anyone to act, they need to want it. Not just think
they want it, but really want it. It needs to drive the hottest spike of pain
through their skull to think of, or to see themselves doing anything else.
Not an adolescent crush on acting, not the thought that you could be in
the movies, but a gnawing pain in your very being that will not shut the
fuck up until you act. If you have that as a starting point, perhaps you
could learn to act.
But WANT is not enough. In the past, I heard a lot of people tell me they
want to act, they want to write, they want to direct etc etc. I say fine,
because I know they wont make it. How do I know? Because want is not
enough. The actions you take towards you goal signal your intent, not
your words of desire. If you want to act, show me with your actions.

Well, you think, Im reading your bloody blog arent I? Isnt that action?
Well, its a start. Well, I want to come to class, is that a start? Sure, but
what else are you doing? My favourite people in the world are those who
just do what they need to do, regardless of all else. The people I admire,
didnt let ANYTHING get in their way, not money, not education, not
disability, not ANYTHING. They get out and do. Life is action, or it is
stillness. There is beauty in stillness. Those who appreciate stillness
have a calm like no other people. BUT inaction isnt stillness, its action
tempered by fear.

We fear. We fear failure. We fear someone proving to us that we arent

as good as the best people. Let me tell you something I think Ive
learned. Thats vanity. Thats all it is. Vanity. Excessive pride, coming
before a long, long, long fall. The difference between the successful
people and the unsuccessful people is the level of action that the
successful people were willing to take. When you put your desire into
action, its amazing what happens.

Stop making excuses, there are always plenty of them and youll never
run out.

Take action or move on.

TEN TIPS FOR ACTORS ON HOW

TO
LEARN YOUR LINES
Learning your lines is one of the basic foundations of being an actor on
any level. If you dont know your lines, theres no excuse, you simply
havent held up your end of the deal. They should fire you because
frankly, you cant do your job.
ONE: Dont learn them in structured phrases, youll find it impossible to
change the phrasing. Learn them by rote, like your times tables, devoid
of meaning but with the flexibility to change in the moment. This will
make learning them more difficult, but more satisfying when you can
change your utterance in any way you choose. Once locked in, line
readings remain precisely the same time and time again. Regardless of
what the other actors do, which is as truthless as possible.

TWO: Work through your script and use a highlighter pen (I like pink or
orange, yellow can fade quickly) and this will focus you on what you
have to learn.

THREE: The first step is the old cover and peek, cover and peek. Say
your line, then cover with a cue card (or some other type of card) and
see if you can repeat. Once you remember the line, move onto the next
line, then go back and do all of the lines. So 1st line, then 2nd line, then
1st and 2nd line together, 3rd line, 1st, 2nd and 3rd line together. Etc.

FOUR: Buy a Dictaphone or download the software for your iPhone or

iPod (many phones have built in voice recorders). This will help you in
lots of ways. You can use it to record all of your lines and listen to them,
but read them cold and plain, like a robot. This will prevent you from
engraving the speech patterns into your memory. You can also use a
dictaphone to record the other character/actors lines and this will help
you to learn your cue lines. You can pause it in between whilst you
practice your lines.

FIVE: Break everything down. You can learn a piece of script in

paragraphs, lines, or even phrases separated by commas.

SIX: If youre struggling to learn any line, do you fully understand it?
Ensure that you really do understand it and then focus on the most
important words of the sentence or paragraph. Connect the important
words.

SEVEN: Learn the sense. Spend time on difficult chunks of text looking at
how the writer develops the sense through the words.

EIGHT: One method that people use is to write or type out their
lines. This is great for literally writing the lines into your head. So, if you
have a monologue, try writing the lines out, a few times and youll find
theyve entered your head. BUT make sure that you dont develop an
internal rhythm for the words while you do it, which would fix their
delivery in a fixed pattern.
NINE: Try writing out just the first letter of each word in difficult
sentences, use them as triggers. T W O J T F L O E W I D S U T A T. You
could also use the first word of each sentence to develop further triggers
for the structure of your words.

TEN: Sing the lines to yourself on the way to rehearsal. Singing distracts
you from rhythms you may have developed. Change the song as often
as possible to keep it fresh.

Once you know your lines, try distracting yourself with exercising such
as press or push-ups and squat thrusts to physically challenge yourself
and your concentration.

Now, the next time someone denigrates your profession with the single
worse question they could possibly ask an actor how do you learn all
those lines?, you can tell them.

Getting into Character is Being in

Flow
In my previous blog article on Getting into Character, I spoke of the
feeling of being in character being generated from the repetition of
psychophysiological actions. This feeling that we experience is
described as being in character. Its when we feel connected to the
role and completely in the moment.

Since reading Sharon Marie Carnickes book Stanislavsky in Focus, Ive

been intrigued by the idea of flow. My own research leads me to
connect the sense of an actor feeling in character to actually being in
flow.

Wikipedia, the great source of all net-savvy knowledge describes Flow

as the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed
in what he or she is doing by a feeling of energized focus. This idea
was proposed and explore by the now highly regarded psychologist
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Click to view his TED talk on FLOW.

Within many fields, we seem the sense of flow repeated represented by

different terms such as in the zone, on the ball and for actors, lets
add one more in character.
There are 7 conditions that are present with an individual experiencing
flow. These seem to be present regardless of cultural or educational
differences.

(This taken directly from Csikszentmihalyis TED presentation)

CONDITION 1: Completely involved what they are doing focused,

concentrated.

CONDITION 2: A sense of ecstasy (being outside of everyday reality).

CONDITION 3: Great inner clarity, knowing what needs to be done, and

how well we are doing it.

CONDITION 4: Knowing that the activity is doable and that I have skills
that are adequate to the task.

CONDITION 5: A sense of serenity, no worries about oneself, and a

feeling of growing beyond the boundaries of the ego.

CONDITION 6: Timelessness, thoroughly in the present time (what we

call being in the moment).

CONDITION 7: Intrinsic Motivation whatever produces the flow

becomes its own reward.

All of these conditions chime with me. As you work your way through, I
think that you will recognise yourself, and those moments when you felt
that you were in character. These are times when you felt at one with
the character, well, you werent. The character isnt real. You are real,
and you were mid-Flow.

Some Introductory Thoughts on

Voice and Speech
This post is mainly aimed at my new acting students that began their
Introduction to Acting course this evening. However, it could and
should be of benefit to anyone studying acting or theatre, and interested
in some basic thoughts on voice and speech. So here we go:
Voice and Speech are often taught separately in the USA whereas in the
UK, theyre taught as one thing. Personally, I find it difficult to conceive
of why one function of the same mouth would be separated from
another function of the same mouth and all of its components. One
feeds the other, one accompanies the other, and both rely on each other
to work effectively. So, at present, as part of my classes, I teach a
combination of Voice and Speech as part of the warm up for the class. I
place a high value on warm up, its an important grounding time, its
personal time and its a way of coming together as a class. To me a
slightly less arty way of crossing the creative threshold, but if you
prefer that way more power to you.

You cant escape it, the voice and speech are truly essential to the actor.
Whether you are focused mainly on voice like a radio actor or
commercial voice over talent, whether youre working in the theatre
where you need to fill a huge room with an individual, powerful, but
subtle voice or a television or film actor who has the boom floating
above their head: your voice and speech are the tools of your trade.

For this reason, you need to take excellent care of your voice. Voice is
distinctively yours no one has a voice like you, not even close family
members. Our voice often reveals a huge amount about us. But your
speech style, as I am often ribbed for, is entirely habitual. You learn it,
and you can change it through habitual practice. Speech also reveals a
great deal about us and people often can get very emotional during
investigations into their voice and speech. Thats why voice and speech
teachers should be particularly sensitive to this. Not all are, in my
experience and opinion.

You may tell the story of the play through your body, but the central
method of communicating the playwrights ideas is through their words
coupled with your actions. Since this is such a primary skill
requirement, then voice and speech plays a central part in actor
training. The actor simply must have voice and speech within their
control and under their command.

Lets look at the voice some more. The word voice in this context
usually refers to the sound is makes, the tone of the sound. To grasp the
voice, you need to understand it. The voice has 3 distinct sections:

The Excitor
The Vibrator
Reasonator
The excitor is what causes the sound, it is the power behind it, in this
case, it is the breath. The power comes through the nose or mouth as
breath, down into the lungs and out as the EXCITOR.

The vibrator is whatever resistance the EXCITOR meets on the way to

the RESONATOR (in this case, its the vocal chords).

The resonator in the human body comes in three different forms: the
pharynx, the mouth and the nose the cavities help to create the sound
resonation.

We just finished discovering the three parts of the voice: the excitor, the
vibrator and finally the resonator(s). Its possible to explore the 3
resonator cavaties personally. Try this:

Close your lips, gently lower the soft palate and continue to make an M
sound Thats one resonator.

Close the mouth and use the pharynx and nose to continue to make the
NG sound the like the end of the word SONG Thats another
resonator.

By opening and closing the resonator, you can get an EXPLOSIVE B

sound. When you narrow the exit, you get a V.

The difference here is that Voice is sound making equipment. Speech is

shaping the sound into communicative words and noises.

Dont be confused, its a matter of practice like any other physical skill.
You cant expect to learn to juggle in a few minutes, it takes hours of
practice, but once youve got it, youve got it.

The next area to look is BREATH: the excitor.

Normally we dont think about our in-breath and out-breath too much
unless we experience pain. We breathe in slowly, we breath out quite
quickly. BUT THIS IS THE OPPOSITE OF THE BREATH PATTERN NEEDED
FOR ACTORS.

In order to speak powerfully on stage, radio or screen, the actor needs

minimum in-breath time and maximum out-breath time, to produce
enough vocal power to tackle even Shakespeares tricky length of lines.

From our first breath to our last, breathing is an instrinsic part of each
and every part of our lives. The breath is both instinctive and expressive.
It is a vital part of our physical functioning as a human being, but also an
essential part of our emotive capacity to express ourselves.

There are two types of breath: the inhale and the exhale (or the in-
breath and the out-breath). Breathing in prepares us, it fills us with the
oxygen which is vital to both, thought and to the fight or flight instinct.
The out-breath is how we communicate, it is the expressive breath. We
inspire on the in-breath and we express on the out.

In times of stress or pressure (when we exert many times), we hold our

breath. Yet it requires a natural and relaxed breathing cycle for the actor
to both inspire and express themselves. We have to learn to breathe
through our toughest experiences.

When we breathe in, the 3-dimensional barrel of our breathing apparatus

should become fully inflated, whilst remaining free from tension.
Likewise, when we release the breath and allow the air to travel out of
us, we should let the deflation be entirely unimpeded. It is common for
many beginning actors to have not considered their breathing when they
begin taking classes. Many people think the belly button should be
sucked in with the in-breath and pushed outwards with the out-breath.
Nothing could be further from the truth. On the in-breath the barrel
inflates, on the out-breath the barrel deflates. This process should be a
cycle and not feel like two separate oppositional forces. The breath is an
endless circle of in and out, inspire and express.

Breath is expression, breath is spirit, when we breathe no more, we live

no more. It is ever present in our living existence, but we take it for
granted. Each and every actor, no matter their level or experience
should take the time to learn more about the breath of life. Breath is
one of the few outlets for the actors inner expressiveness and feelings.
Without deeper knowledge, experience and exploration of the part it
plays in acting, the actor is missing something vital.

Breath is projection, breath is tension, breath is relaxation, breath is

articulation of thought and feeling, breath is inspiration and expression.

The Problem With Text

If you ask them to improvise a scene where they are breaking up with
someone, they can almost instantly bring a compelling performance,
interesting, engaging, varied, nuanced and very real. Given a little
practise, even a novice can imagine this situation and produce
believable performance.
But there is a consistent problem that I see when people are working
with scripted text. Here's the problem:

Acting begins with the words. When we begin to act, we have a set of
words that is given to us from the author. We must then find a way to
animate them. And most people choose to animate them solely on the
basis of their literal meaning.

This type of performance engages the verbal aspect of communication.

Every wondered why your arms flap around like T-Rex when you're
acting? It's because your entire gestural system isn't powered by what
you're saying. It is there to support your verbal communication, but it
cannot work from the words alone.

So why don't our arms flap around in real life? And how to do we get
back to bringing those words fully to life with our entire communicating
self?
The answer is simple. We must uncover the INTENTION. Everything
comes from our INTENTION - including the words we speak and our
gestures.

Discovering the intention of the character is the most important part of

working with a script. Then speaking from that intention is will bring the
words to life while bringing you life.

The improviser unwittingly has this on their side. Break up with someone
- their intention is clear. Their thoughts, actions, feelings, gestures,
words, action, etc all fall We must discover the intention of our
characters and force it to dominate our thoughts, our actions, and our
vocality - the way we speak.
Without the intention, we are forced to impersonate the most superficial
elements of being human and our hands flap around like a movie
dinosaur.

Start with intention.

The Park Bench of Truth

When I studied improvisation with UCB, we learned a simple exercise.
The Park Bench of Truth. Now, to be honest, there's a couple dozen
version of this, but most of them are mince. But this one makes sense to
me, has a real purpose and has demonstrable results for acting students.

In this version of the exercise, two students come up and sit on the
bench and they chat. Often its uncomfortable. Sometimes its awkward.
Sometimes its funny. Sometimes, they feel like they have to perform
something. But that is not the aim. The aim of the exercise is to have
two people chat in front of a group of others. To establish a benchmark.

But all they have to do is talk, chat, have a conversation, get to know
the other person, interact with the other person.

When finally we have a park bench pair who do just that, we can
establish what truthful acting is. I ask the class to describe what they
see. They usually say something like:

Comfortable

At Ease

Natural

Fun

Relaxed

Funny

Enjoyable

Real
There are the reference points to associate with truthful acting. We will
use them as a benchmark and we will come back to them time
and again when we are teaching acting, or doing repetition. Its easy to
say okay, but how does this feel compared to our benchmark? It gives us
a shared reference for the acting that we aim to produce at this studio,
on stage and on screen.

It is a deceptively simple exercise. People WILL try to perform. Somehow

the idea that youre not acting or performing seems foreign even to
complete beginners too.

Handling Bad Language

Sometimes as actors, we're called upon to use bad language. Characters
speak like real people, and some people swear and curse. But whenever
we are called upon to swear/curse/use bad language in a play or film,
something of the inner child comes out.

We feel vindicated to swear in public and so we often accentuate them.

Actually, its quite the opposite of what is required. There are two ways
to handle this type of language.

ONE: Colourful Description

If a character says Ive got no fucking clue. You dont emphasis the
F word. It isnt the important keyword in the sentence.

It is the lack of a clue that is key to this sentence, the F bomb is for
colour and emphasis.

TWO: Aggression

When you are aggressive towards someone, the curse word

becomes the focus. Youre a fucking loser. You hit the fucking hard.

The difference is very important. I once wrote a play filled with colourful
description, but the director didnt control the actors use of the swear
words, and the play didnt work because instead of description, it
sounded so aggressive. But I see it weekly, so its something that we can
all be careful of.
If you get the wrong emphasis, you start to bring an intention which
takes the scene in a direction you shouldn't go. It becomes too much
about those words and not about the other keywordsin each sentence.

Self Test:

Which should you stress or not stress?

1. It just a fucking joke.

2. Youre a cocksucker.

3. Gimme a fucking break.

4. Piss off!

How did you do?

Substitution and the Art of Acting

Characters can be murderers, soldiers, superheroes, queens, nurses and
anything else out of our own experience. To play a role successfully, it is
thought that we must have something in common with the role, that we
must identify with them. People believe that we must be able to find the
character in ourselves. Thats why actors go to dark places in the name
of character identification.

Thats the logic. But personally, I think its bullshit. And it doesnt really
help actors, or if it does, it isnt psychologically healthy - and perhaps its
unnecessary.

The acting teacher Uta Hagen suggested that instead we find ourselves
in the character, we use personal substitutions for incidents in these
characters lives. She suggests that trying to appreciate Blanche DuBois
from her own position was impossible, she was down to earth and
Dubois wasnt in her realm of experience. I admire this admission that
actors cannot realistically hope to find the character in themselves. Its a
very positive realisation.
Hagen suggests we substitute something that has a similar essence and
then accept them within the fictional circumstances. So, if in the scene,
a character calls her character a bitch, but she isnt offended by that
word, she imagines someone calling her another game, and using her
imagination accepts that, and acts from that. She substitutes the thing
in the scene for something familiar and personal. Her substitution helps
you believe in the imaginary situation.

I would suggest that substitution is the best way to play without

identifying with the role. But I think its something simpler and yet more
essential that should be the focus.

If you are playing a scene where the mother of two children is begging
for forgiveness for murdering them - you do not have a life experience to
cover this. So, I would suggest you start from begging for forgiveness.
Whats that like to you? Who would you have to beg forgiveness from?
What would you have to do to have to beg forgiveness from your
husband, your mother, your wife, your best friend? This will activate you,
not to believe in the imaginary, but to behave in a way that is in line
with the essence of the characters psychological actions.

You are playing Hamlet, he cannot decide whether to kill Claudius or not.
You may or may not have this experience, but we dont need your
experience. What we need is for you to be waying up a difficult decision,
or persuading something to do the right thing. Dont seek for a rea
experience to parallel this, you may not have one. Instead, imagine.
Imagine that you are waying up a difficult decision. Observe your
behaviour. Now bring this to the scene with Hamlet.

You are Clarice Starling, you are entering the facility where Hannibal
Lector is kept. You are driven by needing to belong, and you are being
given a chance to belong to the FBI. If you succeed in this mission, you
may belong soon. When you are arrive, you are treated like dirt, you
leered at by prisoners and you are toyed with by Lector. You want
respect in the scene. You certainly dont have these life experiences. But
can you imagine trying to impress someone? Bring this to the scene. Try
to get their respect like you would try in your in substitution.

In Practical Aesthetics, this is called Acting - As-If. It substitutes the

imaginary world of the film or play with the same psychological action
from your own world. Its imaginary still, its not emotion memory.
However, it does mean that you can play any type of role believably by
burrowing into the psychological action in the scene, not trying to play
elements of the character.

Simple Scene Analysis for Actors

I often find that even professional actors dont have the scene analysis
skills of some of our part-time students. Its not their fault, sometimes -
no one ever offered them such practical tools.

The technique that we teach to our full and part time acting students at
ACS includes a fairly robust system for analysing story, script and
scene.

Today, Id like to offer a stripped down simplified version of this, not a

replacement but an alternative for quickly analysing scenes.

First, read the scene through a few times, it matters that you are familiar
with the text.

Next, dig around in what we call the given circumstances, but we might
also call the context of the scene, or simply, facts about the scene and
its characters. Dont embellish, dont get obsessed with something they
say or do, keep it to just irrefutable facts. At this stage, were not that
interested in your interpretation - so just keep it real. Theres a man, hes
40, hes looking in the window, hes wearing a suit, hes got a mobile
phone, he calls his wife. Etc. Keep it very factual. Dont infer something
from what is said or done. Keep it factual.

Next, I want to know whats driving the character in the scene? What do
they want? Or more specific, what do they want the other character or
characters to do? Or more specifically, as a verb, what do they want
them to do? Never settle for understand, know, see, realise, etc. Always
dig deeper than this. When they understand, what will they do, as a
verb. This creates a really strong understanding of what the whole
scene is about for that character. A helpful cheat is to imagine the
perfect ending for the scene and how the other character fits into that.

So now you know whats driving them. Lets imagine the reality of the
situation they find themselves in. They might want the criminal to
confess, but hes pretending the murderer was someone else. So thats
what we might call the reality or the obstacle they face.
Now imagine how they go about trying to get what they want, when
confronted by this reality. What tools or tactics do they use to achieve
this goal?

Finally look at the journey through the scene, from where to where does
the character travel in the scene? From anger to sadness? From
knowledge to loss? From hope to victory? This will help you understand
the journey YOU have to take when you represent that character in the
scene.

If you found this blog post helpful, please consider sharing it with
someone else.

Where The Magic Is

Last nights Step 8 Monologue class was exhilarating. I love seeing a
breakthrough. The class was small, but this meant we had the time to
clarify some points of technique and some thoughts on acting that

The magic of acting is the illusion that we are who we say we are. The
characters. The methods to do this are many, some work, some dont
and the greater problem is discovering which is which.

Acting is just like magic. The audience get their pleasure from being
fooled. They know the magic isnt real, but they enjoy it nonetheless.
The actor is a creator of illusions. They may be fascinated by how we do
it, but their delight is in being fooled, not in how we fool them.

In 2006, Forrest Whitaker won just about every award on the planet for
his portrayal of Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. I do not decry that
achievement, it is outstanding. Part of his preparation was learning
Swahili. The role requires that there are some lines spoken in Swahili
with a distinct East African accent. I admire this, language acquisition is
tough enough.

But I question the necessity. The audience did not come to see a man
speak Swahili with an East African accent. The audience came to be
entertained. Swahili is just part of the magic of the character. The
audience are excited by the illusion of the character. The illusion that the
character speaks fluent Swahili. But they do not need or require the
actor to speak fluent Swahili to enjoy this.
The magician is a highly skilled performer who uses techniques that
create the illusion of magic. The audience are excited by the illusion of
the magic. The illusion that the magician has done something that
cannot be explained. But they do not require that the magician can
actually make the coin disappear. They just need to believe it.

Forrest Whitaker does an immense job in that role. But he didnt need to
learn Swahili. And his success encourages other actors to waste their
time as wizards, trying to do real magic, when the audience will just as
easily enjoy being fooled by a few words spoken convincingly. There is
no need to be a wizard.

Maybe he does it to help himself, not the audience. Maybe its part of
transformation into the character. Maybe. And maybe the magician
needs to believe they are a wizard to do magic, to convince themselves
they are capable of real magic, not just illusion. Maybe.

In class, my student is doing a sad monologue about a man talking to his

dying friend. I do not need the actor to imagine his friend is dying. He
does not need to believe he has a dying friend. He needs to create an
illusion that he is talking to a dying friend. This illusion may be created in
many ways, but the easiest is to imagine that hes in a hospital and his
son is unconscious and hes speaking to him. The words of this
monologue will still make sense and he will be emotionally connected to
it.

First, I asked him to speak to his son as a short improvisation. He was

quiet, visibly emotional and he didnt say much, but his physiological
response was correct for the scene. For those short moments, the class
was silent and barely breathed.

Next, the actor should imagine this same situation for about ten
seconds, speaking to himself in his head and then begin the monologue,
still imagining the son, and letting his imagination, his words and his
feelings mingle.

The illusion was astonishing, captivating. The illusion delighted. Be the

illusionist.

Simple Scene Analysis for Actors

I often find that even professional actors dont have the scene analysis
skills of some of our part-time students. Its not their fault, sometimes -
no one ever offered them such practical tools.

The technique that we teach to our full and part time acting students at
ACS includes a fairly robust system for analysing story, script and
scene.

Today, Id like to offer a stripped down simplified version of this, not a

replacement but an alternative for quickly analysing scenes.

First, read the scene through a few times, it matters that you are familiar
with the text.

Next, dig around in what we call the given circumstances, but we might
also call the context of the scene, or simply, facts about the scene and
its characters. Dont embellish, dont get obsessed with something they
say or do, keep it to just irrefutable facts. At this stage, were not that
interested in your interpretation - so just keep it real. Theres a man, hes
40, hes looking in the window, hes wearing a suit, hes got a mobile
phone, he calls his wife. Etc. Keep it very factual. Dont infer something
from what is said or done. Keep it factual.

Next, I want to know whats driving the character in the scene? What do
they want? Or more specific, what do they want the other character or
characters to do? Or more specifically, as a verb, what do they want
them to do? Never settle for understand, know, see, realise, etc. Always
dig deeper than this. When they understand, what will they do, as a
verb. This creates a really strong understanding of what the whole
scene is about for that character. A helpful cheat is to imagine the
perfect ending for the scene and how the other character fits into that.

So now you know whats driving them. Lets imagine the reality of the
situation they find themselves in. They might want the criminal to
confess, but hes pretending the murderer was someone else. So thats
what we might call the reality or the obstacle they face.

Now imagine how they go about trying to get what they want, when
confronted by this reality. What tools or tactics do they use to achieve
this goal?

Finally look at the journey through the scene, from where to where does
the character travel in the scene? From anger to sadness? From
knowledge to loss? From hope to victory? This will help you understand
the journey YOU have to take when you represent that character in the
scene.